In the most significant initiative to prevent lead poisoning of wildlife in more than two decades, the Center for Biological Diversity and allies on Tuesday submitted a legal petition to ban toxic lead in hunting ammunition and fishing tackle. Every year, lead poisoning kills 10 million to 20 million birds and other animals. Animals are exposed to lead when they scavenge on carcasses shot and contaminated with lead bullet fragments or ingest lead shot pellets or lost fishing weights. Condors, eagles, swans and other animals die needless and painful deaths from lead poisoning or suffer for years from lead's debilitating effects. There are human health risks, too: Recent studies show that tiny lead fragments can infect meat in lead-shot game up to a foot and a half from the bullet wound, and some state health agencies have had to recall venison donated to feed the hungry because of lead contamination.

Our petition, filed under the Toxic Substances Control Act, asks the Environmental Protection Agency to require nontoxic ammunition for all hunting and fishing nationwide. "Over the past several decades we've wisely taken steps to get lead out of our gasoline, paint, water pipes and other sources that are dangerous to people," said Jeff Miller of the Center. "It's long past time to do something about this deadly - and preventable -- epidemic of lead poisoning in the wild."

Read more in The New York Times.

New Gulf Estimate: Oil Spill Worst Ever of its Kind

New government documents offer some scary assessments of the Gulf oil spill. The first was word that federal scientists now estimate that 4.9 million barrels (roughly 206 million gallons) of oil leaked from the well after the April 20 explosion. That makes it the world's biggest accidental oil spill into a marine ecosystem and the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. There was also troubling news -- released in a letter and documents by Massachusetts Rep. Edward Markey -- that the U.S. Coast Guard allowed BP to apply toxic dispersants dozens of times after a joint directive by the Coast Guard and the EPA said the chemicals should only be used in "rare" circumstances.

The Center for Biological Diversity continues its fight in the Gulf, going after the EPA for allowing dispersants to be used without ensuring the chemicals won't hurt endangered species, including sea turtles, and their habitats. One of our attorneys was also in Boise last week for a federal hearing on where hundreds of cases against BP -- including our $19 billion suit to hold BP responsible for Clean Water Act violations -- will be heard. The oil spill may not be gushing as it once was, but the important work of holding BP and the government accountable and helping heal ecosystems harmed by the oil and toxic dispersants is only just beginning.

Read more on the spill's size and the dispersants misuse in The New York Times. Then check out the latest on our Gulf Disaster webpage.

Five Penguin Species Win Federal Protection

In response to a 2006 petition by the Center and two lawsuits filed with allies, five imperiled penguin species are now protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This Monday, the Interior Department announced it will protect the Humboldt penguins of Peru and Chile -- whose populations have plummeted by 95 percent in the last century -- as well as four species from New Zealand: the yellow-eyed, white-flippered, Fiordland and erect-crested penguins.

All five penguins are jeopardized by climate change, ocean acidification and commercial fisheries that deplete their food supply. Unfortunately, the Interior Department didn't acknowledge climate change as a threat to the penguins despite the scientific evidence. Still, the protections will give these penguins an increased chance at survival.

Read more in the New Zealand Herald.

Congress May Be in Recess, But Climate Help Needed Now

As you probably know by now, Congress failed to pass any climate legislation before its summer recess. The Center for Biological Diversity has been closely tracking each version to make sure it actually does what's needed now: reduce carbon pollution to the levels that scientists say are required to avoid the worst effects of global warming. The latest watered-down proposal -- the Kerry-Lieberman bill known as the "American Power Act" -- fell well short of science-based targets of reducing carbon in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million. In fact, the bill would have worsened the problem by offering incentives for offshore oil and gas development.

Any climate bill has to reach those carbon targets, work with existing environmental laws -- especially the Clean Air Act -- and be free of loopholes that allow polluters to delay or avoid reducing greenhouse gas emissions. When Congress resumes, it's likely to take up bills to address the Gulf oil spill. We'll be watching closely to make sure it doesn't gut the Clean Air Act in the process. The Center continues to push the EPA to fully harness the existing power of the Act to curb pollution and dramatically draw down carbon levels. The clock is ticking to save the planet from meltdown: A new federal report notes that the first half of 2010 was the hottest on record. We need your help in encouraging the Obama administration to take action. You can start by signing and spreading the word about the People's Petition to the EPA to Cap Carbon Pollution at 350 parts per million.

Also check out our Legislating for a New Climate webpage.

Mexican Wolf May Get Own Special Status

In response to a scientific petition by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced that the Mexican wolf may qualify for Endangered Species Act protection separate from other gray wolves. Listing the Mexican gray wolf on its own would not only call special attention to this unique wolf's plight, it would also require the feds to update the wolves' 1982 recovery plan, which didn't include any criteria for recovery and predated modern genetic analysis. The new plan would benefit from lessons learned from 12 years of the wolf's reintroduction into eastern Arizona and western New Mexico and provide an important new roadmap for a healthy recovery.

At last count in January, only 42 wolves -- including just two breeding pairs -- survived in the wild. "The Mexican wolf is on a trajectory to extinction," said Michael Robinson, the Center's wolf expert. "This decision breathes life into a recovery effort that has flatlined in recent years."

Read more in the Los Angeles Times.

Center Defends Safeguards for Alaska Beluga

To help ensure the survival of one of Alaska's most imperiled species, the Center for Biological Diversity and allies this Wednesday moved to intervene in a case filed by the state to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the Cook Inlet beluga whale. Recent surveys found just 321 Cook Inlet belugas left, down from historic numbers around 1,300. Although the whales continue to be threatened by oil and gas development, ship traffic, global warming and sewage spewed into its habitat, the state of Alaska sued the National Marine Fisheries Service in June over its decision to protect the whale. Those protections were given in 2008 after two petitions and two lawsuits by Center and allies.

"While Sarah Palin may be gone, her successor is continuing the state of Alaska's irrational war on wildlife," said Rebecca Noblin, Alaska director at the Center. "Alaska should be working to protect its greatest assets -- its wilderness and wildlife -- not suing to overturn protections for endangered whales."

Check out our press release and learn more about the Cook Inlet beluga whale. Then read more in the Anchorage Daily News.

Suit Defends Nine Fish, 1,000 Rivers From Pipeline

The Center for Biological Diversity last week filed suit to challenge the Ruby pipeline, a 677-mile natural gas pipeline that would cross more than 1,000 rivers and streams in five states. Besides using more than 400 million gallons of precious water over the next few years in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California, the pipeline would plow through protected "critical habitat" for nine endangered fish, including the Lahontan cutthroat trout, Warner Creek sucker, Lost River sucker and Colorado pikeminnow. And there's a possibility that the pipeline will rupture at a stream crossing, which would be an environmental disaster.Our suit challenges the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's decision to issue rights of way on federal land for the project, as well as the Fish and Wildlife Service's review of its environmental impacts -- which didn't require enough measures to counteract the pipeline's serious environmental consequences or safety risks.

Read more in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Petition to EPA: Biomass Isn't "Carbon Neutral"

Large-scale burning of biomass (i.e. trees and wood products) for energy threatens both forests and the climate because it emits as much or more carbon dioxide than coal, and forests can take decades or even centuries to pull that CO2 back out of the atmosphere after being logged. Meanwhile the industrial-scale logging needed to produce massive biomass harms forests, soils, water and wildlife. It's not rocket science, yet the Environmental Protection Agency, in its annual inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, erroneously insists on treating CO2 from biomass power plants as being carbon neutral, based on the false idea that the CO2 released when the trees are burned will later be pulled out of the sky by the new trees that grow in their place.

Citing a raft of recent scientific studies, the Center for Biological Diversity last Friday filed a petition asking the agency to correct its erroneous assumption of carbon neutrality. The EPA's error has huge ramifications because it encourages investment in industrial-scale biomass rather than cleaner energy technologies.

The Center's petition also challenges the EPA's failure to consider and respond to public input on its inventory, which was released just hours after the deadline for submitting public comments.

Get more from Examiner.com.

Feds Petitioned to Protect Kit Fox HabitatTo help the tiny, rare San Joaquin kit fox make its way toward recovery, the Center for Biological Diversity this Thursday petitioned the federal government to protect "critical habitat" for the species. Weighing in at about five pounds, this smallest member of the fox family is in dire danger from habitat destruction, coyotes, oil and gas development, pesticides and even certain solar developments that have been recently proposed for its last core habitats. Without protections for its currently occupied habitat along the edges of California's San Joaquin Valley -- plus additional areas the species needs to re-establish itself -- the fox could spiral toward extinction.

The Center has long defended the kit fox from threats like pesticides and oil and gas development in its shriveling range. Critical habitat designation should help stop that range from shrinking further and increase the odds that the fox population will grow. "The existing conservation mechanisms clearly are not working," said the Center's Ileene Anderson. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now has an opportunity to provide additional safeguards and put the kit fox on the path to recovery."

Check out our press release and learn more about our campaign to save the kit fox.

If you're a regular reader of Endangered Earth Online, you already know the Center for Biological Diversity has been working double time to make sure a disaster like the Gulf oil spill is never repeated -- as well as to counter the destruction that's already occurring because of it. But we've done so much work -- and already achieved so many successes -- it can be overwhelming to try to keep it all straight. Lucky for you, the Center's most recent quarterly Biodiversity Briefing, led by Executive Director Kierán Suckling, provides a comprehensive but easy-to-understand summary of all our most important actions and wins to date, from the New York Times story that first broadcast the feds' scandalous offshore-drilling mismanagement to our $19 billion lawsuit against BP for environmental damages under the Clean Water Act to our shutting down potentially catastrophic drilling off Alaska. And so much more.

Listen to a recording of part of the briefing and get more on the oil spill on our Gulf Disaster website. For information on how you can join the Center's Leadership Circle and be invited to participate in Biodiversity Briefings live when they happen, email Assistant Executive Director Sarah Bergman or call her at (520) 396-1129.

Last month a federal lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and our allies stopped a flawed and illegal Bush-era plan to drill in the Chukchi Sea. But no matter how much evidence piles up against drilling in the Arctic, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar keeps pushing ahead. Given the disaster we've seen in the Gulf of Mexico, there's no reason to run those same terrible risks in the Arctic. The stakes are simply too high.

The inadequate and illegal Arctic drilling plan that is currently in place dramatically increases the odds of a large spill. Last week, the Canadian government produced a report finding that it would take three years to cap a blown-out well in the Arctic. The disastrous BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico spewed an estimated 200 million gallons of oil into the ocean in just three months before it was finally stopped.

Despite all the warning signs, Secretary Salazar continues to ask the courts to allow oil companies to go forward with their Arctic drilling plans. Please join the Center in telling Secretary Salazar that the Arctic is too important to sacrifice to America's addiction to oil.

Click here to find out more and take action.

If you have trouble following the link, go to http://http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4587.

Sample letter:

Subject: Please Don't Allow Drilling in Polar Bear Habitat

Dear Secretary Salazar,The legal foundation for drilling in the Arctic has crumbled at your feet. Multiple courts have now found fault with the Bush-era Arctic drilling plan. At the same time, the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has taught us a painful lesson about the dangers of offshore drilling and our inability to cap and contain a blown-out well.

If anything, the Arctic is even more vulnerable to an oil spill than the Gulf of Mexico. There is no technology for cleaning oil in broken ice conditions. The sea-ice environment is extremely dynamic, and the Arctic is subject to dangerous weather conditions including high winds and storms that could seriously complicate any response to an oil spill. What's more, there simply isn't the infrastructure or capacity to respond to an oil spill in the Arctic.

The Arctic Ocean is both biologically rich and extremely fragile. The Chukchi and Beaufort seas are home to America's only populations of threatened polar bears, Pacific walrus and many ice seal species. These iconic species are quickly losing their sea-ice habitat to global warming. It defies logic to open up this fragile, melting environment to dirty, industrial oil and gas development that will only add to the global warming imperiling the Arctic.

The courts have spoken loud and clear: The current offshore drilling plans for the Arctic, inherited from the Bush administration, are flawed and illegal. Please stop all Arctic oil and gas activities now, before it is too late. Thank you.

Here are the facts: In 2008, the Bush administration leased 2.7 million acres of prime polar bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska to oil companies. In 2009, the Center and its allies won a huge victory in court that forced the Obama administration to throw out the nationwide drilling plan under which these controversial Chukchi leases were sold. Last month, a federal judge in Alaska stopped all oil and gas activities in the Chukchi Sea because the Bush-era environmental review was flawed and illegal. Yet Interior Secretary Ken Salazar continues to push for drilling in the Arctic.

Besides its obvious implications for our worsening addiction to dirty fossil fuels, drilling in the fragile Arctic environment poses even more direct threats to biodiversity. It has been proven time and again that where there is drilling, there will be spills. There is no technology to clean oil spills in the treacherous, icy waters of the Arctic Ocean.

One big spill in the Arctic could spell disaster for polar bears, walrus, seals and the entire ecosystem on which they depend. Even in the absence of a large spill, the current Bush-era drilling plan will lead to a huge increase in industrial traffic, pollution and noise in the Arctic Ocean this summer. For a tired, hungry polar bear on the brink, a run-in with a noisy drill ship could be the last straw.

Please tell Secretary Salazar to take a cue from the courts and throw out the drilling disaster plan for the Arctic.

The legal foundation for drilling in the Arctic has crumbled at your feet. Multiple courts have now found fault with the Bush-era Arctic drilling plan. At the same time, the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has taught us a painful lesson about the dangers of offshore drilling and our inability to cap and contain a blown-out well.

If anything, the Arctic is even more vulnerable to an oil spill than the Gulf of Mexico. There is no technology for cleaning oil in broken ice conditions. The sea-ice environment is extremely dynamic, and the Arctic is subject to dangerous weather conditions including high winds and storms that could seriously complicate any response to an oil spill. What's more, there simply isn't the infrastructure or capacity to respond to an oil spill in the Arctic.

The Arctic Ocean is both biologically rich and extremely fragile. The Chukchi and Beaufort seas are home to America's only populations of threatened polar bears, Pacific walrus and many ice seal species. These iconic species are quickly losing their sea-ice habitat to global warming. It defies logic to open up this fragile, melting environment to dirty, industrial oil and gas development that will only add to the global warming imperiling the Arctic.

The courts have spoken loud and clear: The current offshore drilling plans for the Arctic, inherited from the Bush administration, are flawed and illegal. Please stop all Arctic oil and gas activities now, before it is too late. Thank you.

Despite the illegality of the underlying plan and the dangers of offshore drilling that have been brought to light by the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Secretary Salazar continues to push for drilling in the Arctic. He has done nothing to stop BP's untested ultra-extended reach drilling project, dubbed "Liberty," in the Beaufort Sea. And last week he asked the federal court in Alaska to allow oil companies to continue seismic testing for oil prospects in the Chukchi Sea even though the court found the underlying drilling plan to be flawed and illegal.

Thank you for continuing to click daily on the green button! Your clicks help protect rainforest habitat for wildlife through the work of our charity partners. Click here to get informed about how your actions are helping to make the world a better place. Please continue reading to learn how you can give more (while getting more) in our do-good store today.We're Wild...About Wild Animals We fight for rainforest preservation because we're concerned about the health and well-being of our planet and its inhabitants. Join us at The Rainforest Site store today to help make a positive impact on the lives of wild animals in need! Place your order (through the stroke of midnight on Thursday, August 12th) to help feed a rescued infant chimpanzee through the work Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary.This amazing sanctuary is located in the Ugandan waters of eastern Africa's massive Lake Victoria. It's a safe haven for chimpanzees--orphaned as a result of poaching--to recover from their captivity, socialize with other rescued chimps, and learn new skills, with the ultimate goal of being re-introduced to the wild. Shop to show your support, or click here to learn more about this amazing sanctuary. For just $21, you can make a direct contribution to help a rescued chimpanzee return to the wild!Feel-Good Shopping. Feel-Great Savings. You have until the stroke of midnight tonight (Monday, August 9th) to get $10 off your $40 order: All you need to do is enter SIZZLE in the promotion code box at checkout! Start your cost-cutting shopping in our Fair Trade Bag Sale where you'll find an array of styles suited to take you from day to night, to overnight trip and back! Many of these hand-picked selections have been handmade, and all support the artisans who've created these fabulous and versatile pieces. But, you'd better hurry; these fair trade savings end today!Thank you for clicking and shopping to support the cause!Sincerely,

Christmas is right around the corner, but the question remains: what can you do to make this Christmas special for the people you care about?

Now PETA can offer you a wonderful alternative to the hours of searching for that ever-elusive present. Whether you're looking for a special gift for your family members, friends or colleagues or just looking for extra stocking fillers, look no further.PETA Presents make perfect gifts at any time of the year – but especially so at Christmas time.

Each lifesaving present purchased from our website includes a beautiful, personalised gift card of your choice, sent directly to you or your gift recipient. It features a striking image of a rescued animal along with a short inscription describing the animal and the vital work PETA does.

All the proceeds raised from PETA Presents go straight to support PETA's important work. By choosing to give a PETA Present this Christmas, you are also giving the most valuable gift of all: the gift of compassion, which will help to brighten and save animals' lives.

This Christmas, visit our website and give a gift which will help make the world a kinder and more peaceful place for animals.

IDA Asks Federal Court To Block Nevada Wild Horse Roundup"The BLM's policy of mass removal and stockpiling of horses was never authorized by Congress when it protected these iconic animals in 1971 as an important part of our national heritage," said IDA's attorney William Spriggs, who argued against the roundup plan in court Wednesday. IDA and wildlife biologist Craig Downer sued the BLM to block the planned roundup of 2,500 horses in Nevada, still scheduled for December 28. Terri Farley, a Nevada author whose books about wild horses target young readers, joined the lawsuit Monday.Click here to read the AP article with much more information about this situation. And click here to see an excellent piece by veteran Las Vegas investigative reporter George Knapp.

IDA And Actress Elaine Hendrix Post Reward In Cat Cruelty CaseIDA has offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who duct-taped at least four cats in Tennessee and left them to die in garbage bins. The cats were left at Hawkins County’s Lakeview Convenience Center off Highway 11-W on three different occasions over the past month.To claim the reward, anyone with information on this case should contact Detective Lieutenant Randy Collier of the Rogersville Sheriff’s Department at <423> 272-4848.News of the cruel incidents caught the eye of IDA Board Member Elaine Hendrix, a Los Angeles-based actress who was born and raised in neighboring Hamblen County. “I am the guardian of two cats,” Ms. Hendrix said, “and I am sickened by the idea of someone duct-taping their paws together and dumping them – leaving them to die a horrifically cruel death. Particularly disturbing is the deliberation of the abuse - someone put thought and effort into their torturous actions. It’s sadistic.”In announcing the $1,000 reward, IDA President Elliot M. Katz, a veterinarian, stated “Anybody who could be so cruel to defenseless, innocent animals is a danger to society. People who harm animals are usually just warming up.” Dr. Katz was referring to studies documenting the link between violence to non-human animals and violence to people. The FBI acknowledges that unpunished animal cruelty is a consistent predictor of future or concurrent violence to people. It is virtually guaranteed that the perpetrator of these crimes will act again.The four cats survived thanks to employees of the recycling center, who heard their cries and found the cats in duct-taped boxes. One cat had his paws duct-taped together. While the employees now watch for taped boxes and listen for the cries of abandoned animals, it is unknown if other cats have been left at any of the county’s recycling centers to die.

Is Anybody Talking About Diet At The Climate Change Conference?We are, along with the Veg Climate Alliance. A major societal shift to plant-based diets is essential to avoid an unprecedented global climate catastrophe.In Copenhagen, the Alliance presented a Declaration on Meat Consumption and Climate Change, promoting a major shift toward plant-based diets. The Declaration is supported by IDA, the Danish Vegetarian Society, the Veg Climate Alliance, CopenVegan, Global Vegetarians Against Climate Change, the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation, Jewish Vegetarians of North America and others.The coalition also held a Copenhagen forum on “Vegetarianism: Essential to Save the Planet?” featuring talks, videos, panel discussions, questions and answers and a sampling of vegan foods.Click here to see the advertisement that the Alliance placed prominently in Copenhagen during the conference.“The fate of the planet is at stake,” said Dr. Elliot M. Katz, President and Founder of IDA, “and it is essential that the urgency of dietary changes to avoid a climate disaster be part of the message resulting from the Copenhagen climate conference.”IDA and the Veg Climate Alliance are urging consideration of numerous recent reports showing the significant role animal-based agriculture plays in causing global warming. Click here to see the flyer being distributed in Copenhagen by the Alliance.

Exposed - The Tortured Lives Of Baby Elephants In CircusesThis week, the Washington Post told the story of former Ringling Bros. elephant handler Sam Haddock, who trained baby elephants at Ringling’s Florida breeding center for 18 years. Responding to his wife’s dying wish, and a growing desire to end the violent training of baby elephants for “entertainment,” Mr. Haddock found the courage to deliver to PETA scores of shocking photographs showing handlers using ropes, chains, bullhooks and electric shock devices on baby elephants who were unnaturally torn from their mothers so they could be trained. The heartwrenching photos unequivocally demonstrate that Ringling tortures traumatized babies into performing through pain, fear and domination.IDA has focused on the plight of baby elephants in circuses, specifically Baby Val and young Obert, who have been forced by the Carson and Barnes Circus to perform since they were less than two years old.Click here to read more, and to see photos and the Washington Post story.

Vermont Radio Station WVTK-FM Receives Guardian's Voice AwardBruce Zeman is the host of WVTK’s popular “The Wake-up Crew” morning show. WVTK has been a pioneer as a voice for animals. Led by Zeman’s morning show, the station has served as a model for what is possible - delivering a message of compassion for animals, while also promoting animal welfare and adoption. Click here to read more about why this radio station has won our Guardian's Voice award. Bruce and his dog Nathan, pictured here, also won our Guardian Superstar awards.

Clunkers For Critters - Your Old Car Is IDA's Economic Stimulus!Your car just isn’t the same anymore. It stalls, leaks, backfires, or smells like that injured skunk you rescued 5 years ago. Your car has done everything you've asked it to do, and now it is time to say goodbye. And there's no easier way to dump the clunker than by donating it to your favorite organization, IDA! Donating your vehicle will directly save animals’ lives and ensure that the vital work of IDA continues in these tough times. Your donated vehicle, a tax-deductible contribution, does not need to be registered or even in running condition. We will pick up or tow the vehicle from almost anywhere. Isn’t it time you said goodbye and, simultaneously, help so many animals?For more information, call Sage at 415-448-0048, ext. 218 or click here. There is a form to fill out and you can write off up to $500 for the donation.

Lawsuit To Protect Wild Horses Continues Despite Denial Of Injunction Against RoundupWild horse advocates celebrated a partial victory yesterday as U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ordered a lawsuit challenging a Bureau of Land Management roundup of thousands of wild horses in Nevada forward, but denied a preliminary injunction to stop the removal of horses, which is scheduled to begin December 28.

Judge Friedman’s 25-page decision indicates that he found merit in IDA’s argument that the BLM’s practice of stockpiling tens of thousands of horses in long-term holding facilities in the midwest is not authorized by law. Click here to read more.

New Year's Resolution - Free Queenie!So many of you have been asking for news on Queenie, and we were hoping to end the year on a good note for her. But we will have to wait a little longer for her rescue.You will remember that Queenie, also known as Boo, was left behind with Will Davenport in August, when her companions Jewel and Tina were taken by the USDA and brought to the San Diego Zoo – where they are receiving the care they so badly need.The USDA filed serious charges against Davenport in October, and we expected the agency to negotiate a prompt settlement which would result in Queenie going to a sanctuary. It now appears that Davenport intends to fight the charges, and no settlement has been announced. Queenie is still in his hands, although he is not permitted to exhibit her or to move her without the USDA’s consent. No governmental authority will acknowledge responsibility for her well-being.IDA continues to monitor the situation closely, as we have for over two years. We continue to explore all legal options for helping Queenie. And we continue work to persuade the USDA that they have both the ability and the obligation to get Queenie to safety.It is frustrating to contact the USDA only to be rebuffed by their claim that they have no jurisdiction – but the truth is that they are Queenie’s best hope for a happy ending. The USDA can - as it has in many previous cases, including the Hawthorn elephants - reach a settlement with Davenport, who faces substantial fines and possible jail time for the violations alleged against him. Sanctuary for Queenie should be a part of that settlement.Please, don't forget Queenie as the New Year approaches.

Make a call or send a fax for her today, and as often as you can until Queenie is rescued.USDA Contact Information:1> Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: Phone: 202 720-3631, Fax: 202-720-21662> Acting APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea: Phone: 202-720-3861 Email: Kevin.A.Shea@usda.govContact Congress Too!Ask your Congressperson and Senators to contact Secretary Vilsack in support of Queenie's rescue and transfer to a sanctuary. We have yet to locate enough dedicated and effective champions in Congress. Find your federal representatives here.Please continue to contact these officials until Queenie is safe at the PAWS sanctuary in California or The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

Los Angeles Zoo Elephant Lawsuit ProceedsIDA applauds last week's California Supreme Court decision that assures a taxpayer lawsuit against the Los Angeles Zoo and its controversial $42 million elephant exhibit will go back to court for a full trial.By its decision, the California Supreme Court upholds the Appellate Court decision in which the justices concluded, in part, that the "physical characteristics" of an elephant's enclosure may constitute "abusive behavior" under California state law."The California Supreme Court decision rightly allows the taxpayers of Los Angeles to have their day in court," said IDA campaign director Catherine Doyle. "It’s wrong for the City of Los Angeles to waste public money on an inadequate elephant display that we can't afford and in which elephants will continue to suffer and die prematurely."Click here to read our news release about the lawsuit, and click here to read the Loa Angeles Times story.

They Don't Wanna Be In Show BusinessIDA's own Bill Dyer wrote the lyrics for this touching music video about elephants, sung by JoAnne Worley.The legendary Laugh-In actress sings her heart out for elephants.

Clunkers For Critters - Your Old Car Is IDA's Economic Stimulus!Your old car has done everything you've asked it to do, and now is the time to say goodbye. And there's no easier way to dump the clunker than by donating it to your favorite organization, IDA! Donating your vehicle will directly save animals’ lives and ensure that the vital work of IDA continues in these tough times. Your donated vehicle, a tax-deductible contribution, does not need to be registered or even in running condition. We will pick up or tow the vehicle from almost anywhere. Say goodbye to the clunker, and help animals at the same time. For more information, call Sage at 415-448-0048, ext. 218 or click here.

Haiti Earthquake - IDA Is Prepared To HelpHaiti was struck by a major earthquake on January 12, near the capital of Port-au-Prince. IDA is on standby to help and is determining the needs on the ground.The situation in the Western hemisphere's poorest nation is daunting. We are actively assessing how we can assist both people and animals and are still establishing contacts in Haiti. We are in touch with other animal protection organizations to determine how we can best coordinate and maximize each other's efforts.If you have resources that might be put to use to help the animals of Haiti, or if you would like to become more involved in IDA's disaster relief efforts, please contact disasterrelief@idausa.org.Our thoughts are with the people and animals of Haiti. We are standing by, and hope you will too. We will post updates on our blog as they become available.We encourage our members to also support whichever humanitarian relief groups you feel most comfortable with.

IDA Releases "Top 10 Worst Zoos For Elephants" ListIDA just released our 2009 list of the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants, which exposes the hidden suffering of elephants in zoos. In its sixth year, the list highlights how the confinement of these giants to tiny enclosures wreaks havoc on their physical and psychological health and leads to an early death for many.The list includes zoos from all over the U.S. and, for the first time, Canada, providing revealing examples of how zoos fail to meet elephants’ needs for room to roam in a natural environment, a social network, and a climate suitable for these animals.Last year India took the lead when it banned the holding of elephants in zoos. Authorities cited problems common to most zoos, such as lack of space, poor breeding, and the absence of any positive effect on elephant conservation. In contrast, most North American zoos remain mired in the past, denying the devastating impacts of zoo captivity on elephants, sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into woefully inadequate exhibit renovations and clinging to archaic and cruel circus-style training methods.As a result, elephants continue to suffer deadly foot disease and arthritis, reproductive disorders, birth complications, obesity, abnormal behaviors such as aggression and repetitive rocking, and premature death. More than half of the elephants who died in zoos since 2000 did not live to age 40, dying far short of their natural life span of 60-70 years.Since release of the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants list earlier this week, IDA has been inundated with media calls, from sunny Honolulu to snow-covered Toronto, bringing international attention to the plight of elephants suffering in zoos.Click here to see the full list of zoos, plus two new inductees into the Worst Zoos for Elephants Hall of Shame.1. Write letters to the editor and post on-line comments on news stories about zoos on IDA’s Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants list. We’ve provided links to news coverage right next to the list. The more interest the media sees in a particular issue, the more likely it will be to cover it in the future.2. If you live in one of the cities on the list and don’t see any news stories, please check the web sites for your local news, radio and print outlets. If you find a story, send it to us at zoos@idausa.org and we’ll post it.3. If you live near one of the listed zoos and want to help the elephants, please contact IDA at zoos@idausa.org. We’ll put you in touch with others in your area and provide tips on how you can help.

Help Stop Primate Research ExpansionOregon Health and Science University is seeking $15 million dollars from the National Institutes of Health to expand their facilities at the Oregon National Primate Research Center , at a time when world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall and other scientists are calling for the reduction and closure of primate labs. According to OHSU's grant application, the ONPRC owns the “the largest SPF [Specific Pathogen Free] Indian rhesus macaque resource in the U.S.” and these funds would be used to “support the rapid growth of NHP [Non-Human Primate] research.”This construction grant will not improve the lack of accountability, poor research quality and miserable living conditions at OHSU’s primate center. Additionally, a multi-million dollar grant should not be awarded to an institution which has been unmasked as a primate hell-hole by multiple whistleblowers, industry insiders, undercover abuse exposés, and USDA investigations detailing critical reports and violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Click here to see what you can do, including a letter you can send today and an Oregon demo you can attend January 21.

MINE - Full Schedule And This Week's PremiersThe great film MINE, that we've told you about previously, is opening in three more cities this week: New York City on January 15, Chicago January 17, and Honolulu January 19. Click here for more details about the film, these premiers, and to see when MINE will premier in your city

Wednesday January 13National Wear Blue For Oceans Day!Participate in a rally near you, or just wear blue!

National Wear Blue for the Oceans Day is on January 13. This day of action by a broad coalition of environmental and animal protection organizations, including IDA, will include rallies in San Francisco, New Orleans, Washington D.C., Honolulu, Cambridge, Galveston, Tampa, and more. Click here to learn more and get involved.Let’s show President Obama our unwavering support for healthy oceans! Without healthy oceans, whales, dolphins and all other marine animals are in jeopardy.In San Francisco, IDA will be participating in this rally:Who: All who care about the health of our oceans.What: National “Blue Day” Rally for the Ocean with special guest speakers and more!Where: City Hall, S.F. – sign up at www.wearblueforoceans.org. Let us know if you plan on attending.When: Wednesday, January 13, 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.mClick here to see information about rallies in other cities, and to let us know which you can attend.For more info, contact: Hope Bohanec, Grassroots Campaigns Director, hope@idausa.org, <415> 448-0048 ext. 208 Here's a bit more background:President Obama has an opportunity to enact our nation’s first-ever unified National Oceans Policy to protect, maintain and restore the health of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems. This policy was a recommendation of both the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and we’re excited to see this administration follow through with those recommendations. Right now, the President’s Ocean Policy Task Force is working on recommendations for a National Ocean Policy, and we expect those final recommendations to come out at the end of February. Now is the time to show the President that we support this effort and encourage him to take the Task Force’s final recommendations, and issue an executive order that establishes a strong National Ocean Policy to protect, restore and maintain our oceans, coasts, and the marine life who depend on healthy oceans.See the government's website for the Ocean Policy Task Force here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/

Haiti Earthquake How You Can Help The Animal VictimsSince the instant news broke of the devastating earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 12, IDA staff have been working non-stop to assess how we can assist both people and animals on the ground. We have been in constant contact with other animal protection organizations to determine how we can best coordinate and maximize each other's efforts.In response to a barrage of calls from IDA supporters, we rushed out an alert last week to assure you that we were as on top of the situation as possible, standing by to leap into action the moment the assessment was complete – and we asked that you standby as well.

Now we have begun to move into action – at least into the first phase. Next steps will be determined by what we find on the ground.IDA has joined hands with a coalition of animal protection groups, called the Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti , and has already committed funds to help pay for a mobile veterinary clinic. As a member of ARCH, who is coordinating with Sociedad Dominicana para la Prevención de Crueldad a los Animales , which is based in the Dominican Republic, we are working to get an animal disaster relief team of veterinarians and animal disaster responders, food and supplies, into Haiti. Coalition team members are on the ground right now in the Dominican Republic preparing and stocking the animal emergency response clinic, while ARCH is also organizing logistics through veterinary contacts in Haiti.Our immediate need is for your financial support to help us meet the commitment we have already made – and future needs that are certain to follow as this unprecedented tragedy continues to unfold. Numerous supplies are needed for the mobile clinic – food, water, medicine, syringes, bandages, and more.

The situation on the ground is changing by the minute, but as soon as human relief efforts have stabilized and security is in place, and depending on the needs the Coalition finds once team members reach Haiti, we will update you further on additional ways you can help IDA help the people and animals of Haiti.

Haiti Earthquake How You Can Help The Animal VictimsSince the instant news broke of the devastating earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 12, IDA staff have been working non-stop to assess how we can assist both people and animals on the ground. We have been in constant contact with other animal protection organizations to determine how we can best coordinate and maximize each other's efforts.

Update - Our Team Is On The Move

Now we are moving into action – at least into the first phase. The next steps will be determined by what we find on the ground.

IDA, as part of a coalition of animal protection organizations called the Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti (ARCH), is sending an animal disaster relief team of veterinarians and animal disaster responders, food and supplies. The team is on the ground in the Dominican Republic right now, preparing and stocking the animal emergency response clinic, which will be enroute to Haiti within 24 hours.

In Haiti, the coalition has already identified veterinary and animal care resources to deploy on ground and is securing permissions from the Haitian Ministries of Agriculture and Public Health, and working with United Nations agencies to begin our life-saving work to help animals and people. The coalition is engaging directly with the Haitian community, including local veterinarians, who themselves have been severely affected both directly - losing their loved ones - as well as loss of their livelihoods, devastated by this enormous earthquake that the U.N. calls one of the worst disasters ever encountered.

Our immediate need is for your financial support to help us meet the commitment we have already made – and future needs that are certain to follow as this unprecedented tragedy continues to unfold. Numerous supplies are needed for the mobile clinic – food, water, medicine, syringes, bandages, and more.

The situation on the ground is changing by the minute, and and depending on the needs the Coalition finds within Haiti, we will update you further on additional ways you can help IDA help the people and animals of Haiti.

Breaking News: IDA's Project Hope - Rescue Of Many Dogs In Progress!IDA's Project Hope sanctuary and Mississippi Spay & Neuter are teaming up to spay and neuter scores of dogs released to IDA by a Mississippi woman. Once a breeder, she’d fallen on hard times and couldn’t feed or properly care for the dogs. IDA's Doll Stanley, pictured here with one of the dogs, led the rescue.The woman, who had over 60 dogs, refused to abandon them when hard times hit, even remaining in a rental house with no north wall. When asked what she did in inclement weather she responded, “I wrap up and sit on the porch.”On Friday, February 5, 20 of the dogs will be spayed. IDA and MS SPAN hope this event will bring attention to the plight of homeless and abused companion animals across Mississippi through the promotion of affordable low cost, high volume spay/neuter of animals.Project Hope is already working to place the dogs in homes. Click here to read more, and stayed tuned for information coming soon about how you can help these dogs.

More Breaking News - Huge West Hollywood Victory For Dogs and CatsThis week, the West Hollywood, California City Council voted to ban the sale of dogs and cats acquired from puppy/kitten mills. The ordinance passed unanimously, and now pet stores in the city will only be able to display dogs and cats from shelters. Click here to see the CBS story, and click here to see the NBC story.IDA's Bill Dyer spoke eloquently in favor of the ordinance, reminding that West Hollywood was the second city to adopt the IDA-recommended "guardian" language instead of "owner," and also noting that West Hollywood bans de-clawing of cats: "This unprecedented, historic action, in this Guardian city where the de-clawing of cats is also banned, will send a signal throughout our country for others to follow. West Hollywood will always be remembered as the city that had the foresight and compassion to first end the horrible commerce of puppy mills in our society."

Elephants Suffering In Cold Climate ZoosThis week IDA released an unprecedented survey showing that scores of elephants are held in zoos in cold climates, where frigid winter temperatures force the Earth’s largest land mammals indoors into tiny concrete cells for the vast majority of each day during the winter.Cold weather dramatically increases the suffering that elephants already endure in zoos, where increased indoor confinement adds to the physical and psychological problems caused by lack of space and mental stimulation. These include painful and often-fatal foot disease and arthritis, and aberrant behaviors such as aggression and repetitive rocking and swaying.Yet 31 out of 75 AZA-accredited zoos holding elephants in the U.S. and Canada are situated in cold climates, with three out of four of those zoos averaging mean temperatures below freezing for two to five consecutive months each year. For elephants, this means countless long hours spent standing on cold, hard concrete in barren and often windowless cages.Click here to read more, and see what you can do to help.

Queenie Still Needs Your HelpYou will remember that the elephant Queenie, or Boo, was left behind with abusive circus trainer Will Davenport in August as her companions Tina and Jewel were taken by the USDA and sent to the San Diego Zoo for badly needed medical care. All three elephants were victims of Davenport’s negligence and inhumane care, but the agency claimed to only have grounds for taking the two. We cannot forget the last image we have of Queenie, tied to a tree and bellowing, as the truck holding her companions pulled away, leaving her to an uncertain future.IDA is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate Queenie’s health and current circumstances. Please click here to read more, and to see how you can help.

Disappointment Valley - Film Aims To Save America's Wild HorsesJames Kleinert, international award-winning filmmaker, showcases his newest film, Disappointment Valley...A Modern Day Western at the upcoming Santa Barbara International Film Festival. This feature-length documentary examines the politics behind the Bureau of Land Management's controversial policies on public lands. The very existence of America's wild horses and burros is in jeopardy.IDA's President, Dr. Elliot M. Katz, will speak at a Q&A session following the Thursday, Feb. 11 screening.When: Monday, February 8, 4:45 p.m., Metro 4, Theatre IV Thursday, February 11, 6:30 p.m., Victoria HallWhere: Santa Barbara, CaliforniaThe film includes interviews with Michael Blake, , Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortensen, Daryl Hannah, scientific experts, animal rights activists and environmentalists. The documentary is an inspiring reminder to take action to protect America’s wild horses and burros and to preserve our public lands.For further details on the Santa Barbara screenings, visit: www.sbiff.org. Learn more about the film at www.theamericanwildhorse.com.

Grazing Halted on 250,000 Acres to Protect TroutA judge has barred livestock grazing on more than a quarter-million acres of public land in Oregon's Malheur National Forest after legal challenges by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies aimed at protecting endangered trout. The decision prohibits the Forest Service from allowing grazing on nearly 200 miles of the John Day and Malheur rivers and their tributaries -- where endangered steelhead trout live -- until federal wildlife agencies reconsider the environmental effects the current grazing plan will have on the streams. The judge also ordered the Forest Service to continue with trout-protecting measures and monitoring along another 100 miles of streams.The 281-mile John Day River is the second-longest undammed river in the lower 48 states and provides crucial spawning, rearing and migratory habitat for the largest naturally spawning native stock of wild salmon in Oregon's Columbia River basin. Steelhead trout -- which can reach up to 55 pounds in weight and 45 inches in length -- are threatened by a long list of dangers, from grazing and nonnative fish to water withdrawals and development.Check out our press release.

Largest Mountaintop-removal Mine Vetoed -- Thank YouAfter Center for Biological Diversity supporters sent in nearly 30,000 comments against mountaintop-removal coal mining, the Environmental Protection Agency this morning made a historic decision to halt the most massive mountaintop-removal mine ever proposed for Appalachia. The permit had already been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers, but the EPA -- for the first time in history -- exercised its mining-permit veto power over the agency, ruling that the destructive project would have too many water-pollution impacts, including downstream fish kills. With mountaintop-removal mining, entire tops of mountains are blasted off to access coal deposits, after which toxic mining waste is dumped into surrounding waterways. The Spruce mine would have destroyed 2,300 acres of forest and buried nearly seven miles of streams depended on by countless wildlife species -- not to mention local human communities. Coal-field residents have been fighting the Spruce mine in West Virginia since 1998.

Mountaintop-removal coal mining has already destroyed more than 500 mountains, more than 1 million acres of hardwood forest and more than 2,000 miles of streams in Appalachia. "Today we applaud the EPA for following the law and the science and acting to protect the nation's wildlife and the citizens of Appalachia from the devastation of mountaintop removal," said Tierra Curry, Appalachia native and a biologist at the Center.

Read more in The New York Times, check out our press release and learn about our campaign to end mountaintop removal.

Oil-spill Commission Report Shows Need for Offshore Drilling HaltJust hours after the national oil-spill commission released its final report on the BP disaster and the dangers of offshore drilling, the Center for Biological Diversity on Tuesday called for a stop to drilling in the Arctic and all deepwater drilling until the report's recommendations are carried out. We also called for the withdrawal of controversial Arctic leasing and deepwater drilling in the Gulf given the green light in the past month -- as the Department of the Interior scrambled to authorize projects before the anticipated report was released.Among the dozens of critical recommendations outlined in the 398-page report were adequate preparation for an oil spill -- specifically in the Arctic, where the report said a cleanup isn't currently feasible -- as well as requirements for complete analyses of oil drilling's environmental impacts and risks, as required by law. "The commission has set the bar for safety and environmental protection," said Kierán Suckling, the Center's executive director. "Ignoring the commission puts our oceans, wildlife and economy at enormous risk of catastrophe."Read more in our press release and check out our comprehensive Gulf Disaster website, which outlines the Center's extensive action (including eight lawsuits) to halt dangerous drilling since the BP spill.

25,000 Acres Saved for Rare Kangaroo Rat

Resolving a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and its partners, a judge on Tuesday struck down a federal attempt to slash protected "critical habitat" for the highly endangered San Bernardino kangaroo rat. Originally, the species was granted 33,000-plus acres of protected habitat -- due to an earlier Center suit -- but that area was dramatically reduced in 2008 to just 7,779 acres, after the building industry filed its own suit (trying to get its hands on the species' habitat for lucrative development). "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to gut critical habitat wasn't based on sound science," said Ileene Anderson, a biologist with the Center. "The latest court ruling gives the San Bernardino kangaroo rat a better chance at survival." Threatened by habitat loss due to urbanization, sand and gravel mining, and flood-control projects, this big-footed, long-tailed little mammal is found only in California's Riverside and San Bernardino counties.Read more in the San Bernardino Sun.

Urgent Safeguards Demanded for Miami Blue Butterfly -- Take Action

To save one of the world's most beautiful -- and closest to extinction -- invertebrates, the Center for Biological Diversity this Tuesday petitioned for emergency Endangered Species Act protection for the Miami blue butterfly. This bright blue, inch-long butterfly lives for only nine days -- but for an appalling 27 years, it's been on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's "candidate list," where the agency puts species that it admits need protection but refuses to protect. Twenty-four candidates have already gone extinct while on the list, and the Miami blue was recently discovered to have disappeared from its main location in Florida's Bahia Honda State Park. Just a few scattered individuals now remain in the Key West National Wildlife Refuge, all threatened by sprawl, fire suppression, pesticides, climate change and other factors.The Center has been working to save the Miami blue for 10 years, since we first reached an agreement with the Service to expedite protection for 29 species, including the butterfly -- on which the agency obviously didn't follow through. We've also filed suit to protect all 254 candidate species. Check out our press release and learn more about the Miami blue butterfly and our Candidate Project. Then take action to protect all 254 candidates.

Resolve to Be a Clean Air Advocate in 2011

Do you still need a New Year's Resolution for 2011? How about resolving to become one of the Center for Biological Diversity's Clean Air Advocates? Just as the Obama administration is beginning to use the tried and true Clean Air Act to address global warming, some in Congress have resolved to make 2011 the year they gut this cornerstone environmental law that has cut dangerous pollutants, saved thousands of lives, prevented millions of illnesses and saved more than $22 trillion. As a Clean Air Advocate, you'll counter attacks on the Clean Air Act and push the feds to use this crucial law to solve our most pressing environmental crisis. With a motivated group of like-minded folks, you'll help the Center by taking action online, putting pressure on decision-makers, meeting with your congressional representatives, talking strategy during phone briefings, spreading the word in your community and more. Let's make this year a real turning point in the ever-more-urgent fight to stop global warming.Become a Clean Air Act Advocate today and check out our Clean Air Act Take-action Toolbox to get started. Contact Rose Braz, our climate campaign director, at rbraz@biologicaldiversity.org or (415) 436-9682 x 319 if you'd like more information.

Habitat Protection Sought for Northeast Fox Squirrel

To defend the dwindling range of North America's largest tree squirrel, the Center for Biological Diversity today filed a scientific petition to earn federally protected "critical habitat" for the endangered Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel. This heavy-bodied, fluffy-tailed, silvery-gray squirrel occupies just 10 percent of its historic range, which has been devoured and degraded by logging and development. Now the squirrel also faces global warming-caused sea-level rise, which could inundate half its occupied habitat by next century. Though the fox squirrel has been federally protected since 1967, the feds have never designated critical habitat. The squirrel is hanging on only in portions of Maryland and a tiny part of Delaware (with a reintroduced population off the coast of Virginia)."Designating critical habitat for the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel will help ensure its survival and recovery," said the Center's Bethany Cotton. "The Obama administration should work quickly to protect the habitat of one of the few endangered species living within a two-hour drive of the halls of power in D.C."Read more in our press release and learn about the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel.

Surveys Show Delta Fish‏ Collapse ContinuesRecent surveys in the San Francisco Bay-Delta reveal that native open-water fish species remain at alarmingly low levels, meaning California's largest estuary is still in ecological collapse. The California Department of Fish and Game's latest survey indicates that Sacramento splittail have reached record-low population levels, Delta smelt continue toward extinction, and longfin smelt continue to be endangered. Major factors in the declines are massive water diversions, toxic chemicals and pesticides, and invasive species. Powerful agricultural interests and the state of California have derailed federal measures to protect Central Valley chinook salmon and Delta smelt, instead promoting the diversion of even more water from the ravaged Delta ecosystem.The Center for Biological Diversity is preparing to sue over a federal decision not to restore Endangered Species Act protections to the Sacramento splittail, which were improperly stripped under the Bush administration. We also have ongoing lawsuits over the rejection of our federal petition to protect longfin smelt and upgrade protections for Delta smelt.Learn more about our campaign for San Francisco Bay Area and Delta protection.

New Law: Make a Tax-free IRA Donation by Jan. 31Endangered plants and animals deserve a peaceful retirement too. And now they can have a chance at one, due to a new tax law.The long-awaited IRA charitable donation tax exemption was finally signed into law last month. It allows individuals who are at least 70 1/2 to donate up to $100,000 tax-free to the Center for Biological Diversity from their traditional or Roth IRAs. It's tax-free because the donation won't count as personal income (other IRA withdrawals do). It will, however, count as part of your required minimum distribution. And because the law was created so late last year, it allows retroactive donations to be made up to Jan. 31, 2011, and still count against the 2010 tax year.So if you love endangered species and have an extra $100,000 burning a hole in your IRA (or $10,000 for that matter, or even $1,000), you can donate it to the Center's species-protection work within the next two weeks as a tax-free 2010 gift.Click here to learn more and make a gift by Jan. 31.

In Memoriam: Judge John Roll (1948 – 2011)

Last Saturday, U.S. District Judge John M. Roll was shot and killed in an act of violence in Tucson, Ariz., an attack primarily aimed at Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that also killed five other people. Roll had been a federal judge since 1991 and was 63 when he died.Roll presided over many cases brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, including a landmark decision in which he struck down the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refusal to prepare a federal recovery plan or protect "critical habitat" for the endangered jaguar. The agency is now in the process of developing a recovery plan and mapping out essential U.S. jaguar habitat.Said Center Executive Director Kierán Suckling: "John Roll is gone, the victim of a senseless shooting that has shaken our sense of civility and political discourse. But his life's work lives on, touching our lives and those of our children and grandchildren because of the lasting influence of his courageous judicial rulings. He upheld justice, and in so doing, made the world more just. He upheld the right of other species to thrive, and in so doing, made the world more meaningful."Read Suckling's memorial statement remembering Judge Roll.

Congress: Stop the Next Oil DisasterThe Deepwater Horizon oil disaster claimed the lives of 11 workers, killed scores of threatened and endangered sea turtles, brown pelicans and dolphins, and devastated the Gulf Coast economy. The long-term ecological impacts of the disaster may not be known for years.

This week, the National Oil Spill Commission released its final report on the catastrophe -- but by itself, a report cannot avert another disaster.

Urge your representative and senators to take action now to protect America’s shorelines, wildlife and regional economies from another offshore oil disaster.

FeatureWild Weeks for WolvesIn the closing days of 2010, Congress came close to stripping federal protections from gray wolves. The proposed legislation ultimately failed, but with a new, more anti-conservation Congress taking power, wolves aren't out of the woods yet.

Learn more about what happened, what's in store, and how the future of America's wildlife heritage is at stake.

Wins for WildlifeSalazar Surprises in FloridaInterior Secretary Ken Salazar presented a proposal to create a new wildlife refuge and conservation area in the Everglades that will help protect rare panthers and other wildlife. Salazar's surprising and welcome announcement came at this year's Everglades Coalition Conference co-hosted by Defenders. >>Learn More

New Home for FerretsBlack-footed ferrets have a new home on the North Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana. Defenders' Lacy Gray was there when these rare mammals were released -- and has the video to prove it. >>Watch Lacy's Video

Wolverine's Welcome NewsWolverines deserve increased federal protections, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It's a welcome victory that Defenders has worked hard to achieve, but only a first step to ensuring a lasting future for these reclusive forest animals.>>Learn More

Protecting Wild PlacesLate last month, America's wild lands -- and the wildlife that lives there -- got an early Christmas present when federal officials announced an order to allow greater protections for these special places.>>Learn More

Defending Wildlife Speaking Out for Struggling LobosWildlife Hero and Defenders supporter Jeanne Ossorio is on the front lines for Southwest wolves. She has tirelessly advocated for the protection of los lobos and helped blaze the trail for wolf-specific eco-tourism in the Southwest.

When news broke that the remaining 42 or so Southwest wolves could lose vital federal protections, Jeanne spoke out, noting that such a move would leave these wolves “at the mercy of local politicians who may or may not have their best interest at heart.”

Watch Jeanne's interview with New Mexico's KRWG. Share this edition of eNews